grace under pressure • jerome valeska

CHAP.22: Dazed

 I didn't fully process what I saw at first. Watching Theo stand and take out a knife. That couldn't have been possible. It seemed like a dream. Watching Jerome turn around slowly with a confused look on his face. I knew what was going to happen next. Theo was supposed to hit Jerome in the head to my dissatisfaction but then we would get away by running into the box and running behind the curtain. But that's not what happened.  

 "NOOOO!" I scream as I watch Theo stab Jerome in the neck. He lets Jerome down, whispering to him. I drop the gun and run forward and push Theo off of him, the dagger falling to the floor. I hold Jerome's head in my hands. I shake my head. 

  "No no no no no." I say, putting a hand over Jerome's wound. Blood spills from his mouth. I start to cry and rock back and forth. My vision becomes blurry and I hold Jerome closer to me. 

  "No-no your g-going to be okay." I stutter and sniff. 

  "Grey..." He says. I shake my head.

  "We're going to get you out of here. A-and we a-are going to celebrate and k-keep causing chaos. Gotham will be ours. Just like you said. Just like we planned. Just like you promised." I say quickly, brushing back his hair. He smiles at me.

  "Grey...it's o-okay." He croaks. I shake my head. I couldn't process this. This wasn't happening. It wasn't. He keeps smiling. I give a weak smile back. 

  "Grey..." He whispers. "I...love..." He goes limp in my arms, his eyes wide and lifeless. I look at him. 

  "Jerome?" I say and shake him a bit. "Jerome! No no no! Wake up! Wake up!" I start to scream at him to wake but he just laid there, unmoving with a smile plastered on his face. I cry uncontrollably and rock back and forth with him in my arms. I couldn't breathe and I just stayed there, on my knees, trying to get Jerome to wake up. Tears rolled down my cheeks and I couldn't see. I could only see the fuzzy outline of Jerome's dead body. Why wouldn't he move? Why wouldn't be come back to me! I then feel a hand on my shoulder. 

  "Grace, you are under arrest." I hear Jim say softly behind me. I shove him off, just continuing to stare at Jerome. He grabs me again. I growl at him and shove him back. He then grabs my arms and pulls me up, away from Jerome. 

  "You have the right to remain silent." He says. "Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." 

  "No! No! Let me go!" I screech at him, kicking my feet up in the air as I feel my hands get cuffed. I struggle desperately to try and get to Jerome but Jim pulled me off the stage with other police officers coming into the room and either following him or going up onto the stage. I see paramedics come to Jerome's body. 

  "No! Leave him alone! Leave him alone!" I scream as I was dragged out of the room, out of the building and into the parking lot. Jim dragged me along with him even through my crying and screaming. People looked at me as I growled and snapped. I couldn't leave Jerome. I had to get back to him. He was the only thing I had left! Jim kept a firm hold on me, stopping in front of a police car and pointed to a police officer.

  "You. Is this your car?" He asks. The police officer nods. Jim motions to me. "Take this women to Arkham Asylum. They'll know what to do with her." He nods once more before getting into the front of the car. Jim opens the back car door and pushes me inside. 

  "Watch your head." He says. He then goes to close the door but I grab his wrist before he could.

  "Just know." I hiss and he turns to me with a raised brow. "You just let Jerome die... but you have unleashed the real evil onto Gotham." He stared at me for a moment before ripping his arm away from me and slammed the door closed. I then felt myself break down, crying and curling into a ball as the car started and drove off down the road. 

  I had just watched the love of my life die right before me. I didn't know what I meant by telling Jim that. I didn't know if I meant Theo...or myself. 

                                       |TIME SKIP|

  When I was strapped down onto the bed inside a room of Arkham Asylum, I didn't even try to fight it. I just let them take me. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore. I couldn't seem to think or feel in the past few hours. I felt so very numb. The only thing I could feel where the restraints on my wrists and the pressure of the bed below me. 

  I was limb, my head facing to the right and seeing the bland, oh so familiar room around me. I think I might of gotten the same room. Everything seemed the same in here. I just lay there, running over what had happened only a mere few hours ago. 

  Jerome being stabbed and me being hauled away like an animal. Over and over and over again. It just kept repeating in my head like a none stop carousel of horror. And emotion came back to me. Ever so slightly. Sadness. Sadness consumed me. It took over me and I felt one stray tear run down my face. The sadness pressed against my chest. It hurt. It hurt so much. I cry out, hot wet tears running down my neck and staining my bed. 

 I couldn't do anything. I was helpless. I was dazed. I didn't think I could ever escape.